Bearded, plaid-shirted and wearing a hoodie, Matthew Marchand strikes an unassuming pose. But looks can be deceiving.

The 32-year-old Ottawa man has done something remarkable, and he thinks you — or some of you — can do the same thing.

About a year ago, the Ottawa group home worker donated part of his liver to a complete stranger, an act he calls “the best decision I have ever made.” Before surgery, he asked his doctors at the Toronto General Hospital whether they could do a “two for one” and also remove his kidney to donate. He wasn’t joking. The doctors declined to do it at the same time, but Marchand expects the second surgery to take place early next year. It would make him one of only a handful of people who have donated both a liver and kidney to strangers. And Marchand is not sure he will stop there. If he has his way, he will become the first anonymous lung donor.

Marchand is one of three local liver donors stepping out of the shadows to tell their stories in the hopes that others might be inspired to do the same thing. All three, Marchand, Theresa LeBane and Jenn Bruno, will be honoured by the Canadian Liver Foundation at a gala in Ottawa on Nov. 5.

A few decades ago, people like Marchand, who wanted to donate an organ to a stranger, were viewed with suspicion, to say the least. Before the first anonymous liver transplant was approved at Toronto General, there was “a good deal of discussion about whether this should be done or not,” according to Dr. Morris Sherman, chairman of the Canadian Liver Foundation. But times have changed.

“It sounds crazy,” says Marchand, “but the more you look into it, it really isn’t.”

Matthew Marchand donated his liver to an anonymous stranger and plans to donate a kidney as well.Tony Caldwell /
Postmedia Network

As the gap between organs available and need continues to grow, living donors are increasingly filling the gap — about one in four liver transplants at Toronto General, the biggest program in North America, now come from living donors, the majority of whom are family members or close friends. And while anonymous donations to strangers are less common, the numbers of people willing to donate anonymously is steadily growing, boosted by high profile cases including Ottawa Senators’ owner Eugene Melnyk’s successful plea for a liver in 2015. Still, Marchand was only the 32nd unrelated donor at Toronto General.

Despite the relative rarity of his act, Marchand doesn’t consider himself special.

“I really wanted to do it, I am really happy I was able to do it, but I am not looking for any thanks or anything like that.”

He said he doesn’t usually talk much about it, but welcomes the chance to raise awareness about living liver donations because he believes it will help convince others to donate.

“The idea of being special doesn’t really enter into it. I think there are more people who would feel the way I do and possibly would do this if they were aware it was possible.”

But Sherman, of the liver foundation, politely disagrees. It takes a special person to agree to donate part of their liver to a stranger, he says.

“This is a really big deal, this operation. I think it is an amazing altruistic gift. I think these are unusual people.”

Marchand had been thinking about donating part of his liver — in his case, he donated about 30 per cent — ever since he learned in high school biology that livers regenerate. “I thought, ‘I wonder whether you can donate your liver,’ and then, ‘Oh, no, they would never let you do that, they would think you were crazy’.”

Related

But the thought stayed with him. When the Halifax native read about a New Brunswick man who had donated part of his liver, he realized it was possible and began planning to, one day, do so. Marchand considers himself religious and works for L’Arche, which operates communities for people with intellectual disabilities and was founded by Jean Vanier.

Marchand was partly guided by a parable about fear of taking risks, he says. But he also credits his action to being from the east coast. “There is a spirit of generosity. Even if you don’t have a lot, you share.”

School, work and life got in the way at first but, partly driven by witnessing the devastating impact of a friend’s cancer death on his family, Marchand decided, about a year ago, that it was time. “I thought: I am getting older. If I am going to do it, I should do it now.” Once the process of testing and evaluating was done, the surgery was quickly scheduled.

Marchand admits he was nervous about the eight-hour operation, but his research had convinced him the procedure, although complicated, was safe. The mortality rate for the procedure, he said, is .5 per cent, although Toronto General’s living liver donor program has never lost a patient.

“Could I really sleep at night knowing that I kind of chickened out of this for what I considered frivolous reasons?”

Marchand has nothing but praise for the medical care he received. He was off work for two months but is as healthy as he was before the surgery. His liver regenerated in a matter of weeks. His only concern was that not all the post-op visits and drugs were paid for, although the pre-op visits were. He spent more than $600 of his own money on drugs after the surgery.

Marchand said he hopes others will, like he was, be motivated by his story to learn more about it and maybe follow his lead.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Market to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.